In
So’s view, economic ties between Hong Kong and Cambodia have been very
strong, with significant increases in trade between the two during 2011
and 2012.

“In 2011, there was an increase in trade of 22 per
cent. In the first nine months of 2012, year-on-year, there has been a
16 per cent increase in trade,” said So.

According to So, the most encouraging numbers can be found in Hong Kong’s imports from Cambodia.

“Imports
from Cambodia saw an increase last year of 90 per cent. In the first
eight months of this year it’s been 76 per cent. All of this points to a
lot of room for collaboration.”

Some specific areas noted by So
were processing agricultural products, manufacturing and the garment
industry. However, he said with the service sector accounting for 93 per
cent of Hong Kong’s GDP, collaboration could spring from tourism,
hospitality, design, innovation, technology and research and
development.

“This country [Cambodia] is rich in investment
opportunities. I think the door is wide open for Hong Kong investors to
come in,” he said.

Hong Kong is now campaigning to be integrated
into the free trade agreement between China and ASEAN countries. So
highlighted the fact that Hong Kong is used as a gateway for trade with
Mainland China.

“In our exports with ASEAN countries, 97 per cent
of those exports are re-exports out of which 71 per cent is to or from
Mainland China,” he said.

“So, you see the majority of trades
between ASEAN and China is through Hong Kong. That’s precisely our role
in the scheme of things.”

The integration of Hong Kong into the
free trade agreement will be on the agenda for the November ASEAN summit
in Cambodia, said So, “I understand that the chair, Prime Minister Hun
Sen, will push for Hong Kong to be a party to the agreement in the
November summit.”

Cambodia would stand to benefit from Hong
Kong’s integration into the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement through
increased investment opportunities and access to a strong financial
infrastructure, according to So.

“We rank fifth in the world in
terms of foreign direct investment… I think we could bring a lot of
investment into Cambodia. And also, a lot of our manufacturing sectors
would like to re-tap into the opportunities and collaborate with the
local enterprises in terms of setting up operations here.”

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